(Cleveland) - Officials of the city of Cleveland admit mistakes were made in preparation for the events of May 30th, in which a demonstration at the Free Stamp morphed into looting and rioting that started outside the Justice Center, and moved toward businesses on Public Square and Euclid Avenue.
City leaders, including Cleveland Safety Director Karrie Howard, on Thursday released a 39-page report of how Cleveland's safety forces handled the situation. The report was released after a news conference.
Police Chief Calvin Williams said he would have had to have every one of his officers downtown from the beginning to have handled things properly, but that would have left no officers to patrol neighborhoods. However, when it came to deploying officers, Howard said a lot of what was learned on May 30 was used for security outside the Cleveland Clinic building that hosted the presidential debate in September.
The report also acknowledged the actions of some of the rioters, including shining lasers into the eyes of police, and attacking police who tried to put out fires.
Williams admits that the staging of officers around downtown was wrong for the events that transpired, that too many were at the protest at the Free Stamp, and not enough elsewhere.
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